2.4 Requirements for DE Class Syllabi

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Background

If you're still new to online teaching, you may not have considered all the changes that will be important in your class syllabus. Your syllabus is a great place to start when redesigning a class to be offered online or in hybrid format. As you think through your class - how you have taught in a classroom, what you expect of students, and how you organize and orchestrate all of that - you may have some questions about how that translates to an online environment.

Revising your syllabus for the online environment is critical and inclusion of certain elements is required for distance education classes at College of the Desert. Simply reusing a syllabus designed for an on-ground class is likely to lead to confusion for you and your students.

College of the Desert Required Elements for DE Class Syllabi

Fortunately, College of the Desert again offers some official guidance. At College of the Desert we use a program called Simple Syllabus. Many elements are already included in the outline provided, you will just need to add your personal information. Simple Syllabus, like the name is easy to use. We have a Canvas Course to help you get started.

Be sure you include the elements below:

Policy describing the frequency and timeliness of instructor-initiated contact
Policy describing how, where, when instructor provides feedback
Description of how, where, when course documents are made available to students
Support services available to online students
Any onsite meetings, for hybrid classes

To get some ideas, check out the syllabus library shared by College of the Desert faculty.

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